Growth in the communication industry continues at a robust pace. New communication systems continue to develop and these systems often “seamlessly” integrate with existing systems. For example, wireless local area networks (WLANs) have evolved to facilitate connections between portable devices and the Internet. Each newly developed system typically employs a new and different security protocol. For example, devices in a wireless local area networks (WLAN) may utilize Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or 802.1x based security, hardwired LAN based devices may utilize a Microsoft Windows® security feature and a cellular telephone system may utilize a ciphering security feature. Thus, when these communication subsystems interact, each subsystem or segment of a communication link typically employs a different security feature or routine. Often, security features of one link are applied to secure data of another link resulting in a “piggy backing” of security features resulting in multiple or redundant security features. It is inefficient to run multiple or redundant security features particularly when a security feature that provides minimal security is overlaid on a robust security feature. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to efficiently manage communication security functions and features in a communication system to overcome these problems.